Tame the Dragon

Episode3

"Beneath the Broken Sky"

Everything changed that instant. The ground under us cracked apart, the earth shaking as something massive—a shadow more terrible than anything I could have dreamed—rose from the ground.

The last thing I saw as the world slipped into darkness was the sparkle of Kaelen's golden eyes, his stare filled with a mix of rage and something I couldn't quite explain. A scream rocked the very mountains.

Kaelen yelled, "Aria," his voice rough with desperation. 'Run'. Your only chance is this one.

But it was already too late.

I was plummeting as the earth broke underfoot.

I dropped hard, pain searing across my side where earlier Malvenor's blade had hit. My eyesight dimmed, the world whirling around me as the sound of far-off, terrible roars rang through the night.

My head hurting, my heart hammering in my chest, I battled to get up and looked around attempting to understand what was happening. I could feel the darkness, though, creeping nearer. Something approached.

Then, among the haze, I noticed a person standing above me with their face covered in shadow. A black shadow, the barely discernible outline of wings extending from their rear, astonishingly large.

"Kaelen," I whispered, my voice tight but more than a plea. We were praying.

The world darkened then as well.

I gulped for breath, the weight of the blackness settling upon me. Under me, the earth vibrated with the sound of distant thrum of wings. Ignoring the agony shooting up my side, my heart flew and I staggered to my feet. Time was not on our side for lingering or healing.

I had to locate Kelaen. I stayed with him; unable to leave.

"Kelaen!" My voice rang over the void, but there was no response—just the terrible silence of the night interrupted by the odd, spooky rustle of invisible life.

I investigated the all around shadowy thickness. His location was The air seemed unfit, packed with a horrible power. It seemed to be pricking the back of my neck and burrowing under my skin. Something was stalking us. No person.

Too fast to be human, I caught a flutter of motion. I turned toward the commotion and my breath seized in my throat. In the shifting darkness, there glowed hungry and ruthless eyes for me. It wasn't Kelaen.

I murmured "Malvenor," under my breath, a cold running down my spine.

The man moved ahead, and as he came out of the shadows the air grew cooler. His features started to show more definition, and I could see the twisted, nasty smirk on his face.

"You still live here, Aria," Malvenor spoke with a fluid, mocking amusement-based flow. "How beautiful.

I stood my ground despite the surge of panic chewing at my chest by swallowing hard. "What do you want from me?”

He moved slowly ahead, his robe billowing like smoke. Have I not already taken everything from you? You only haven't yet understood it.

"What are you referencing?" I insisted, my voice quivering even with my best attempts to seem robust.

Malvenor's lips closed into a smile, and the ground underfoot shook fiercely with a finger snap. I staggered backwards, hardly catching myself as the ground opened to expose a black hole. One that rocked me to my very core, a deep, hollow scream emanated from the depths.

"The dragon's chains are just the beginning, Aria," he said, his voice falling as though he were telling a secret. "The real danger... lies in what's coming."

A strong blast of wind tore across the valley before I could reply, bearing with it the clear sound of Kaelen's roar—filled with wrath and pain.

"No," I said, heart thumping in my chest. "Not again.

Malvenor's eyes glowed with a flash of success. "Too late, princess. You came late.

Adrenaline racing through me, I whirled around following the sound of Kaelen's shout. Once more the ground below shook, and I hardly had time to react before the ground opened wide and a black figure emerged from the shadows. Though he wasn't the same, it was him—Kaelen.

A cloud of dark energy engulfed him; his eyes went wild with wrath; the golden glow flickering wildly. Once around his neck, the shackles that confined him now hung like a noose, evil energy coursed through them like poison.

"Kaelen!!" I sobbed; my voice broke with terror.

His face contorted in misery, he turned toward me. "Aria, run!," says His voice, suffering from desperation and agony. "Run! You must—have—"

But before he could finish, the ground beneath us fractured and the air around us broke with a deafening c***k. We both staggered. I could hardly hold my equilibrium, so I grabbed out for Kaelen only to have him yank away with a terrible howl.

He said, his voice strained with wrath, "Get back!" His bindings shook fiercely as evil magic shot from him. "It seems quite dangerous! You do not grasp—"

But the sound of Malvenor's laughter—low and dark, like a death knell— blotted out his words.

You still think you could stop me? Malvenor snarled. "Aria, it's already starting. You are too late.

A wave of energy shot toward us with a flick of his wrist, and I was flung back against the sharp rocks, my body crashing against the chilly stone. Stars burst into my sight, and for a moment everything was black. Blinking my eyes open, I saw Kaelen, struggling against the magical powers keeping him captive, his eyes wide with dread as Malvenor approached, his voice dripping with success.

"You cannot save him right now," Malvenor replied, his words cutting like knives. Not once the curse has already been set.

My body hurting, my vision fuzzy, I battled to stand. No... My voice was a whisper, feeble against the inexorable flow of gloom closing in.

My eyes fixed on Kaelen's, I forced myself to my feet with every last bit of power. Magic permeated the air, and I felt pressure rising in my chest, almost certain of crushing me. I had to relocate. I had to get moving.

Still, it was too late.

A fresh sound entered the air: the clear squeal of something big, old, and terrible. It was emerging from the shadows, a form too big for human comprehension. Heart freezing in my chest, I turned to face it.

Then the thing emerged from the smoke and darkness, its massive wings opening like a storm on the horizon to blot out the heavens above. the dragon.

Not Kelen, though.

This one was different—darker, more twisted, with ember-burning eyes. The thing seemed to be created of shadows, an awful abomination. Though it was something else entirely, I could see the chains wrapped around its torso shining with evil magic, same as Kaelen's.

"You've played your part, Aria," Malvenor's voice rang in the stillness with a terrible finality. Still, the actual storm has only started.

As the dragon screamed, the planet seemed to burst open and everything went dark.

I sensed the ground change under me, then—nothing. Just the chilly, limitless blackness of the abyss dragging me in.

And just before I passed out, I heard one more horrible sound: the roar of the dragon echoing far away.

And I knew—no one would be walking out of here alive.

"Who will struggle for us if you won't?" Kela asked.

His golden eyes fixated on me, blazing with something savage and unlike anything else I had seen. Something raw, desperate, like a storm just about to blow through. Still, there was uncertainty and flickering of doubt. His chest heaved as though he lacked words to convey himself. As though he managed the weight of what we were facing on his own.

You dare tell me that right now? His voice sounded like a rasp, like he battled every word. You're not grasping. You feel you can rescue me? You, a princess, feel you could correct this? Now this curse? That darkness? His gaze softened for a fleeting second, the rough edges of his rage momentarily replaced by something frail. "You are handling nothing at all.